B(C₆F₅)₃-Catalyzed Highly Chemoselective Reduction of Isatins: Synthesis of Indolin-3-ones and Indolines

Abstract

A chemo- and site-selective reduction reaction of isatin derivatives using catalyst B(C₆F₅)₃ and hydrosilanes is described. This transformation is operationally simple, proceeds under mild conditions, and is resistant to various functional groups. Thus, this efficient reaction using a combination of B(C₆F₅)₃ and BnMe₂SiH or B(C₆F₅)₃ and Et₂SiH₂ could potentially be utilized to produce various indolin-3-ones and indolines, without the need for multistep procedures and metal catalysis conditions.